Third-seeded Dover-Sherborn took down the 10th-seeded Indians, leaving no question in a 15-3 rout and setting up another meeting with Cohasset in the state championship Wednesday at Harvard Stadium

By Kevin J. Stone/Daily News correspondent

Milford Daily News

By Kevin J. Stone/Daily News correspondent

Posted Jun. 10, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 10, 2013 at 10:04 AM

By Kevin J. Stone/Daily News correspondent

Posted Jun. 10, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 10, 2013 at 10:04 AM

DOVER

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Until its 2012 state championship, the Dover-Sherborn boys lacrosse team was the Buffalo Bills of Division 3 high school lacrosse in Massachusetts.

In 2009, D-S lost in the state final in overtime to Scituate. In 2010, the Raiders were bounced in the semifinals by Cohasset. 2011? Dover-Sherborn again found a way to lose the championship game again, this time by just one goal to Weston.

But after getting the proverbial monkey off their back last season with a beat-down of North Reading, the Raiders were free to play with all the confidence in the world when they took to their home field Sunday afternoon for their Division 3 East semifinal game against Hanover, a team they beat in the same round a year ago.

They did just that, as third-seeded D-S took down the 10th-seeded Indians, leaving no question in a 15-3 rout and setting up another meeting with Cohasset in the state championship Wednesday at Harvard Stadium (time TBD).

The win moved Dover Sherborn to 18-4 while Hanover ends its season at 13-7.

"I haven't seen Cohasset very much, but I know they're a very well-coached team," said D-S coach Brian McLaughlin. "They're a very big, athletic team, I know that, so we're going to have our hands full."

While the game didn't have the same stakes as Sunday's, D-S took down Hanover 10-4 on April 11. The playoffs are a different animal, but some lessons of the past were put to use Sunday, and health was a big difference as well.

"In the first quarter of the last game Brandon actually got a concussion, so it sort of got our offense in a bit of a rut early on," Davies said. "Today, as you could see, we were just clicking really well together on the field and kind of had everything going. We've been playing together for a while now again and it's definitely helped."

D-S led 3-0 after one quarter on goals from Polk, Jaeger and Gregory. In the second, Davies had a hat trick while Hanover got a goal apiece from Dean Prouty and Jon Nassif. The teams went to halftime with the Raiders leading 6-2.

In a dominant third quarter in which Dover-Sherborn controlled possession for nine of the 12 minutes, Davies posted two goals while Jaeger added two more, and the teams entered the fourth quarter with the Raiders up 10-3.

Part of that dominance in possession came from faceoffs and ground balls, as the Raiders took care of business in both departments all day long.

Page 2 of 2 - D-S won 17 of 21 faceoffs, led by senior Keaton Stoner. As a team, they picked up 24 ground balls to Hanover's 19. The Raiders also ripped off 33 shots while Hanover had just 14, although D-S senior goalie Ryan Goodall, who will be playing at Colorado College, had some big saves early on.

"The vibe around here all week has been really good, and I think they walked in expecting an easy game," Jaeger said.

The fourth quarter was chippy as both teams did their best to control their composure. In the end, three more goals from Davies, and goals from Jaeger and Gregory, capped the day as the teams played with running time once D-S went up by 10 goals.

The focus now shifts to Wednesday, when the Raiders will look for a second straight state title after many frustrating years.

"It would definitely be a highlight of my high school career, a repeat," Jaeger said. "We want to bring Coach Mac another title that he so longed for. He's been there probably six times now and he deserves a second championship."